Maria C. R. Harrington, Ph.D.

The Harrington Lab: https://virtualnature.org

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariacrharrington

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=6OAQVyQAAAAJ&hl=en

You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/@mariaharrington2565/videos

Education

Ph.D. in Information Science, School of Information Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 2008

M.S. in Information Science, School of Information Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 1990

B.S. in Economics, Art minor, Carnegie Mellon University, 1988

Ph.D. Dissertation

Harrington, Maria, C. R. (2008). Ph.D. Thesis: Simulated Ecological Environments for Education (SEEE): A Tripartite Model Framework of HCI Design Parameters for Situational Learning in Virtual Environments Available on D-Scholarship@Pitt http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/8971/

U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/816,357 “Simulated Ecological Environments for Education and Methods of Creating and Implementing Same” (June 23, 2006)

Current Employment

Since 2016 University of Central Florida

Associate Professor (Tenured 2022 – Present) Orlando, FL

College of Sciences, Nicholson School of Communication and Media, Games and Interactive Media Program, Digital Media M.A. Program

Secondary Joint Appointment UCF Learning Sciences Cluster (May 2019 – Present)

Graduate Faculty Member, College of Graduate Studies (2016 – Present)

Modeling and Simulation MS and PhD programs (June, 2022 – Present)

Education PhD, Exceptional Education Track program (February, 2023 – Present)

Assistant Professor (2016 – 2022)

College of Arts and Humanities, School of Visual Arts and Design (2016 – 2020)

Graduate Faculty Member, Texts and Technology Ph.D. Program (2016 – 2020)

Principle investigator on several grants developing digital twins of natural environments and the design, development, and evaluation of immersive informal learning applications. Taught in graduate and undergraduate programs, chaired or committee member on graduate student research, mentored, advised undergraduates in research, and developed seven new courses. Service to community includes editorial boards, grant review panels, invited peer reviews, and university, college, school, and department committees. Community service engagement served on parks and science center advisory boards, collaboration with museums and parks to engage the public in learning about the natural world through immersive applications.

Honors and Awards

2023 ACM SIGGRAPH Electronic Theater 50^th Year Retrospective Celebration, The Virtual UCF Arboretum (Invited)

2022 University of Central Florida, College of Sciences, Excellence in Research Award

2022 University of Central Florida, Nicholson School of Communication and Media, Outstanding Creative Activity Award

2021 Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT), Learner Engagement Division, Outstanding Digital Learning Artifact Award

2021 Museum and Web International Conference, MW21 GLAMi Award, Finalist in Resources for Scholars and Researchers Category

2020 Museum and Web International Conference, MW20 GLAMi Award, Finalist in Exhibition Media or Experience: Immersive Media (AR/VR/Environmental)

2019 Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Research Associate (Invited, three year appointment)

2018 Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Powdermill Nature Reserve, Artist in Residence Award

2017 University of Central Florida, Office of Research and Commercialization, Mentoring Program Award

2006 University of Pittsburgh, 30^th Annual Honors Convocation, Outstanding Graduate Student Award

2005 University of Pittsburgh, School of Information Sciences, Allen Kent Award

Creative Works Overview

Since 2016, The Harrington Lab has produced two major digital twins of natural environments as multistage projects, The Virtual UCF Arboretum Projects and the AR Perpetual Garden Apps Projects. The applications were completed and launched on global digital distribution channels representing an exceptionally high level of product design and project management and broader impact using AR and VR technologies. Several international and national awards, grants, and commercialization have resulted from this effort. The current work is based on a 2003 application, The Virtual Trillium Trail Project, that pioneered the method of using geographical information system (GIS) datasets from ESRI of natural environments, to extract, transform, and load geospatial files into Unreal Tournament to create a MOD application as an early digital twin of the natural environment. Uniquely it visualized biological plot study data immersing the user in a 3D photorealistic geospatial virtual forest. The applications were designed to be use in an experimental research studies and as a validated and reliable test instrument of the real environment. The research design isolated the application’s design factors to measure informal learning outcomes in causal and correlational relationships. The goals of all of my creative works are to intentionally and deliberately design applications that are both beautiful and functional. The main research focus is on the design, development, and evaluation of immersive informal learning applications using digital twins of the natural environment. Immersion and embodiment design dimensions are explored as new technology enters the augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR) off-the-shelf product market.

My design process is an extension of traditional user centered design to include domain experts, stakeholders, educators, and learners in a multi-cyclical and iterative multidisciplinary co-creative process. I call this process the Expert – Learner – User – Experience (ELUX) process. This process also considers tasks, goals, and objectives for excellent user experience, while integrating innovations in technology for publication and dissemination considerations. Digital distribution channels, legal, and financial constraints are considered important multidimensional design factors. The designs of the resulting applications are evaluated using mixed-methods in IRB research studies for publications in journals and conferences for broader social and educational impact. All projects provided research, funding, awards, commercialization, and educational opportunities. There are several current multidisciplinary collaborative research projects in process across the university in Psychology, Education, and the Modeling and Simulation programs.

• My creative works have resulted in UCF Technology Transfer and Commercialization, UCF Copyright Disclosures, and UCF License Agreements, resulting in about 480,000 downloads from digital distribution channels worldwide of all products, demonstrating impact of creative works.

• Creative works, stories, press, and links have been posted on my blog: Virtual Nature.org: https://virtualnature.org/

• Applications may be downloaded from The Harrington Lab website: https://the-harrington-lab.itch.io/

• Virtual 3D plant models used in the construction of these digital twins of nature may be found at Epic Games Unreal Engine Marketplace, here: https://unrealengine.com/marketplace/en-US/profile/The+Harrington+Lab+at+UCF?count=20&sortBy=effectiveDate&sortDir=DESC&start=0

• The Virtual UCF Arboretum website 2D and 3D plant atlas may be found on PBS Learning Media: https://florida.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/virtual-ucf-arboretum/virtual-ucf-arboretum/?fbclid=IwAR3Sur3GVnALQadQY1SLAOCrIIvxdMGBceGPcEOWG5nKjz8BzBI_Txa1oW4

• The AR Perpetual Garden App, co-created with the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and Powdermill Nature Reserve, represents two visualizations amplified with bioacoustics, story, and facts and use in experimental research studies on informal learning, may still be found on the Apple iTunes Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ar-perpetual-garden/id1438086490

• The Virtual Garden Timeline co-created with the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and Powdermill Nature Reserve, represents about 250 native plants and displayed in a 3D spatial and temporal timeline: https://virtualgarden.powdermill.org/

The Virtual UCF Arboretum Project (2016 – Present)

The Virtual UCF Arboretum Project is an investigation of the design, development, and evaluation of immersive informal learning applications created to work as an educational simulation field trip. It is unique in that it visualized ESRI geographic information system (GIS) data of native plants and flowers over a large open world to represent 100 hectares (247 acres) of a Central Florida landscape in Epic Games Unreal Engine. The project has several collaborations and partnerships. The application was co-created in a multidisciplinary effort, between Digital Media and the UCF Arboretum team, staff, and faculty in Biology. Research partners are in the department of Psychology and industry. As an example of an early digital twin of a natural environment, it achieves high information accuracy in the plant models, inventory, and distribution data, with photorealistic detail to match the real environment. The design not only visualized the data, but also made all objects interactive, and using metadata connected graphical objects to the semantic data to produce an interactive learning user interface. The resulting work is an immersive, multimodal, interactive, geospatial data visualization experienced as an embodied digital twin of the real world.

1. The Virtual UCF Arboretum version 1.0, (2016 – 2021), Epic Games MegaGrant 2020: The original Unreal Engine 4.3 application created in a multidisciplinary effort across Digital Media, Biology, Ecology, and the UCF Arboretum staff. Several peer-reviewed journal papers, international peer-reviewed conferences papers, awards, and grants have resulted from this effort. Student learning experiences, graduate student research and thesis, and broader impact with the Orlando Science Center, ACM SIGGRAPH, Muse Web, have resulted. The models are being used by M3DVR, Cesium, Blackshark.ai, Presegis, and others in the commercial markets. Download application (4,510 downloads): https://the-harrington-lab.itch.io/the-virtual-ucf-arboretum Download FREE plants (450,000 downloads): https://unrealengine.com/marketplace/en-US/profile/The+Harrington+Lab+at+UCF?count=20&sortBy=effectiveDate&sortDir=DESC&start=0 Video: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC41UPaOORst2jh7XWwskYXw/videos

2. Integration of The Virtual UCF Arboretum with a treadmill and overhead projector to investigate health and wellbeing impacts: UCF ORC VPR Advancement of Early Career Researchers (AECR), (2019 – Present): The Virtual UCF Arboretum was integrated with a normal treadmill and projector, but user interaction experience allows the user free choice in geospatial navigation (360 degree freedom) and to walk in any direction of choice with a normal stride. Such a simple user interface was achieved through connecting and programming hand-controllers to allow the user to push buttons in either hand to control the view display while walking and creating the illusion of control over direction. The study was disrupted during COVID and forced a pilot test online. The lab has only recently reopened to support the larger study. Video: The Virtual UCF Arboretum VR Headset and Treadmill Project, 2019: GaIM collaboration with Dept. Psychology, COS, UCF https://photos.app.goo.gl/CnPvvjY1qZ2k8X2m6

3. Unreal Engine 5 update for Higher Information Fidelity, Graphical Fidelity, Visual Fidelity, and Immersion, The Virtual UCF Arboretum version 2.0 (2022 – 2023), UCF Research Foundation GAP Fund Award (2022 – 2023): The Virtual UCF Arboretum and all plant models have been updated to work in Unreal Engine 5. The work was invited and featured in ACM SIGGRAPH 2023 Electronic Theater 50th Year Retrospective Celebration. Video: https://www.youtube.com/embed/r9I0XuI6NmY?si=DA3Z2EDUIPmP_8Ca

4. Integration of The Virtual UCF Arboretum with Infinadack’s Omnidirectional Treadmill, High Immersion and High Embodiment, (2020 – Present), The Virtual UCF Arboretum was integrated with an Infinadeck omnidirectional treadmill and an HTC Vive VR headset in a collaboration with M3DVR, a local Orlando startup. The application configuration supported a graduate student thesis research study, and an paper was accepted for publication at I/ITSEC 2023. Video: https://photos.app.goo.gl/txyNVUvcMGXsDBF66

The AR Perpetual Garden App Project (2017 – Present)

The AR Perpetual Garden App is an augmented reality app that was launched on the Carnegie Museum of Natural History Apple iTunes and Google Play Android stores in 2018. As one of the first to use SLAM technology (ARCore and ARKit SDKs) it visualized a forest understory as a type of a native botanical garden and as a virtual extension to a museum diorama. It is unique as it offers an immersive, multimodal, interactive, embodied experience (e.g. AR Holodeck). Several IRB approved informal learning and user experience study evaluations were conducted onsite with the public, and resulted in several papers published at ACM, IEEE, journals, and awards. The study showed the importance of design factors of story and facts, and the correlation of immersive AR to story and facts to drive higher learning outcomes. Emotional outcomes were stronger in the AR condition when compared to the control, and emotions are correlated to learning outcomes. Download application (29,906 downloads): https://the-harrington-lab.itch.io/the-ar-perpetual-garden-apps UCF Story photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/1mnd1YvtwfSQMom9A Video: https://www.youtube.com/embed/maJ7iOu2BT4?si=SeV5OnXBWcrwb5DH

The Virtual Trillium Trail Project (2008)

The Virtual Trillium Trail Project was a modification to Unreal Tournament used to create one of the first data visualizations of a nature preserve. Part of a Ph.D. dissertation in information science (2003-2008), mixed-methods were used in the research design to measure usability, emotional, behavioral, and learning outcomes influenced by design factors in an immersive and embodied virtual field trip.

The pilot study showed the real field trip to be a superior learning environment overall as there were more salient signals in the real environment. However, the virtual matched real emotional and learning outcomes when the content was identical. Evidence of priming, transfer, and reinforcement were measured, indicating that the best educational practices are to use the virtual and real experiences together to prime, transfer, and reinforce.

Visual Fidelity (high information fidelity, high graphical fidelity, high visual fidelity, and high immersion) and Navigational Freedom (360 free choice in navigation and exploration and high embodiment) showed significant statistical interaction and effects on emotional, behavioral, and learning outcomes. The combined conditions of both High Visual Fidelity and High Navigational Freedom resulted in superior Knowledge Gained on tests, (Mean = 37.44% increase in test scores, SD = 13.88) when compared to the Low Visual Fidelity and Low Navigational Freedom conditions (Mean = 20.93 % increase in test scores, SD = 13.36). The study showed the importance of the design choices on learning outcomes, independent of all other factors.

The results show emotional correlations to learning outcomes. Beauty, as a factor in the design, is correlated to awe and wonder, and awe and wonder is correlated to higher learning outcomes, thus suggesting a complex, multidimensional model for immersive informal learning application design effectiveness.

Download: https://the-harrington-lab.itch.io/the-virtual-trillium-trail

Video: https://www.youtube.com/embed/CMIhdzsOlTk?si=92CNYqqKnJG0IJn9

Published Refereed Research

International Published Journal Articles (Peer-Reviewed)

• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (March 13, 2023). Virtual Nature Makes Knowledge Beautiful. Frontiers in Virtual Reality, 4. Sec. Virtual Reality and Human Behaviour. doi: 10.3389/frvir.2023.1100540, URL = https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frvir.2023.1100540
• Harrington, Maria, C. R., Bledsoe, Z., Jones, C., Miller, J., Pring, T. (2021). Designing a Virtual Arboretum as an Immersive, Multimodal, Interactive, Data Visualization Virtual Field Trip. Multimodal Technologies and Interaction, 5(4), 18. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/mti5040018 (Scopus Citescore 3.7)
• Harrington, Maria, C. R., Tatzgern, M. Langer T., Wenzel, J. W. (2019). Augmented Reality Brings the Real World into Natural History Dioramas with Data Visualizations and Bioacoustics at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Curator: The Museum Journal, 62(2), 177 – 193. First published in Wiley Online Library (April 19, 2019). DOI: 10.1111/cura.12308, (SJR H-index: 8, a premiere international journal for museums)
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (2012). The Virtual Trillium Trail and the Empirical Effects of Freedom and Fidelity on Discovery-based Learning. Springer Nature: Virtual Reality, 16(2), 105 – 120. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10055-011-0189-7 (Impact Factor: 5.095)
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (2011). Empirical Evidence of Priming, Transfer, Reinforcement, and Learning in the Real and Virtual Trillium Trails. IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies, 4(2), 175 – 186. https://www.computer.org/csdl/journal/lt/2011/02/tlt2011020175/13rRUxjQyrq (Impact Factor: 3.32)
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (2009). An Ethnographic Comparison of Real and Virtual Reality Field Trips to Trillium Trail: The Salamander Find as a Salient Event. In Freier, N.G. & Kahn, P.H. (Eds.), Children, Youth and Environments: Special Issue on Children in Technological Environments, 19(1), 74 – 101. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7721/chilyoutenvi.19.1.0074?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

International Published In Proceedings (Peer-Reviewed Conferences)

• Martin, Fred and Harrington, Maria (in press, 2023). “Learning and Emotional Outcomes in an Immersive Omnidirectional Pilot Study,” 2023 Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation, and Education Conference (I/ITSEC). Orlando, Florida, November 30, 2023.
• Harrington, Maria C. R., Jones, Chris, Peters, Crissy. (August, 2022). “Course on Virtual Nature as a Digital Twin: Botanically Correct 3D AR and VR Optimized Low-polygon and Photogrammetry High-polygon Plant Models.” ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques Conference 2022 Courses (ACM SIGGRAPH 2022 Courses). Vancouver, Canada and Virtual Event, USA, August 7 - 11, 2022; ACM: New York, NY, USA. DOI 10.1145/3532720.3535663. https://s2022.siggraph.org/presentation/?id=gensub_252&sess=sess217#038;sess=sess217
• Harrington, Maria C. R. (August, 2021). “Virtual Nature.” ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques Conference 2021 Birds of a Feather (ACM SIGGRAPH 2021 BOF). Virtual Event, USA, August 9 - 13, 2021; ACM: New York, NY, USA. https://s2021.siggraph.org/presentation/?id=bof_136&sess=sess429
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (August, 2020). Augmented and Virtual Reality Application Design for Immersive Learning Research Using Virtual Nature: Making Knowledge Beautiful and Accessible with Information Fidelity. In Proceedings of the ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques Conference Talks (SIGGRAPH ’20 Talks). Virtual Event, USA, August 17, 2020; ACM: New York, NY, USA, 2 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/3388767.3407318
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (June, 2020). Virtual Dioramas Transform Natural History Museum Exhibit Halls & Gardens to Life with Immersive AR. In Proceedings of ACM SIG CHI The ACM Interaction Design and Children (IDC) Conference 2020: Demos & Art Exhibition. London, UK. June 21 – 24, 2020: Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 276 – 279. https://doi.org/10.1145/3397617.3402036
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (June, 2020). Connecting User Experience to Learning in an Evaluation of an Immersive, Interactive, Multimodal Augmented Reality Virtual Diorama in a Natural History Museum & the Importance of Story. In Proceedings of the IEEE, iLRN 2020: 6th International Conference of the Immersive Learning Research Network. San Luis Obispo, California. June 21 – 25, 2020. DOI: 10.23919/iLRN47897.2020.9155202
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (March, 2020) Observation of Presence in an Ecologically Valid Ethnographic Study Using an Immersive Augmented Reality Virtual Diorama Application. In Proceedings of the 2020 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops (VRW). Atlanta, GA, USA (virtual), March 22 – 26, 2020; 813-814. DOI: 10.1109/VRW50115.2020.00257
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (March, 2020). Augmented and Virtual Reality Dioramas and Arboretums for Museum XR Exhibition Engagement and Learning Design as a Lightning Talk. In Proceedings of the 24th Annual MuseWeb Conference MW20: MW 2020. Los Angeles, CA. March 31 – April 4, 2020. Harrington, Maria. Published March 28, 2020. Consulted March 28, 2020.
  https://mw20.museweb.net/proposal/augmented-and-virtual-reality-dioramas-and-arboretums-for-museum-xr-exhibition-engagement-and-learning-design/
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (April, 2019). Virtual Dioramas Inside and Outside Museums with the AR Perpetual Garden App. In Proceedings of the Annual MuseWeb conference MW19: MW 2019. Boston, MA. Published online February 14, 2019. Consulted March 13, 2019, April 2 – 6. https://mw19.mwconf.org/paper/virtual-dioramas-inside-and-outside-of-museums-with-the-ar-perpetual-garden-app
• Harrington, Maria C. R. (November 3 – 4, 2017). Ripples in a Pond: How Virtual Reality may be a Tool of Impact for the Humanities. In Proceedings of the HASTAC 2017, UCF, Orlando, FL.
• Portnoy, F., Smith, L., Harrington, Maria, C. R., Kremer, K., Nichols, T., & Zammitto, V. (September 19 – 23, 2011). Facing the Human Factors Challenges in Game Design: A Discussion Panel. In Proceedings from the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 55(1), 520 – 524. Las Vegas, Nevada. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1071181311551106
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (May 13-15, 2011). The Virtual Trillium Trail — An Educational Simulation of the North American Forests. In Proceedings of the iED Summit: Immersive Education Initiative: Boston Summit 2011. Boston College, Boston, MA.
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (June 3 – 5, 2009). Meta-ontologies for Learning in Virtual and Augmented Realities. Presented at the ACM-SIGCHI IDC09: The 8th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children Workshop on Children and Mobile Technology: Interface Development for Mobile Touch Devices. Como, Italy.
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (March 10 – 13, 2008). A Demonstration of Virtual Trillium Trail, a Simulation of a Fourth Grade Field Trip to a Wildflower Reserve for Ecology Education. In Proceedings of the Open Learning Interplay Symposium 2008. Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA.
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (July 30 – August 3, 2006). Situational Learning in Real and Virtual Space: Lessons Learned and Future Directions. In Proceedings of the ACM SIGGRAPH 2006 Educators program (SIGGRAPH ’06). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 48 – es. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/1179295.1179344
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (June 28, 2006). Trees of Life: Models of Children's Creative Processes. In Proceedings of the ACM DIS 2006. State College, PA.
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (September 14 – 18, 2005). Virtual Beechwood: Simulated Ecological Environments for Education. In Proceedings of the Conference on Spatial Information Theory 2005. Ellicottville, New York.

National Published In Proceedings (Peer-Reviewed Conferences)

• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (January 22 – 25, 2018). Improving Psychophysical Well-being and Performance in Isolated, Confined, and Extreme Environments with Head Mounted Virtual Reality Photorealistic Simulations of Earth Based Natural Environments. In Proceedings of the 2018 NASA Human Research Program Investigators’ Workshop HRP RESEARCH: THE GATEWAY TO MARS, Galveston, TX.
• Larson, S. and Harrington, Maria, C. R. (November 1 – 4, 2012). A Survey of ABET Accredited, Information Systems, Undergraduate Programs in the USA. In Proceedings of the Information Systems Educators Conference (ISECON). New Orleans, Louisiana. https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.296.7010
• Gennari, J., Harrington, Maria, C. R., Hughes, S., Manojlovich, M., & Spring, M. (June 15 – 17, 2003). Preparatory Observations on Ubiquitous Knowledge Environments: The Cyberinfrastructure Information Ether. In Proceedings from NSF Post Digital Library Futures Workshop. Chatham, MA.

Regional Published In Proceedings (Peer-Reviewed Conferences)

• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (January 31 – February 2, 2018). Successful Emergent Team Formation Methods and Process at UCF Digital Media, using Webcourses Discussion Feature and Ideation Techniques. In Proceedings of the 2018 Sunshine State Teaching and Learning Conference, St. Petersburg, FL.
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (November 10, 2017). The Virtual UCF Arboretum Project: Work-in-progress Demonstration of a STEM Teaching Resource, the Website, and Virtual Reality Flowers and Plants. In Proceedings of the Plants Beyond Limits Conference, University of Central Florida, Department of Biology, Orlando, FL.
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (March 30 – 31, 2012). Birds-of-a-feather Video Game Development: Overview of the Torque 3D Educational Site License. In Proceedings of the 27th Annual Spring Conference of the Pennsylvania Computer and Information Science Educators, Millersville University, Millersville, PA.
• Harrington, Maria, C. R., & Kovalchick, L. (March 30 – 31, 2012). Birds-of-a-feather Virtual SRU: How a Project Management Class used Google Earth and Google Sketch-up. In Proceedings of the 27th Annual Spring Conference of the Pennsylvania Computer and Information Science Educators. Millersville University, Millersville, PA.
• Hulick, F. and Harrington, Maria, C. R. (November 3 – 6, 2011). The Value of Internships in the Information Systems Curriculum: A Case Study. In Proceedings of Information Systems Educators Conference. Wilmington, NC.
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (April 8 – 9, 2011). Social Networks, Use and Misuse by Businesses: What Information Systems Students Need to Know. In Proceedings of the 27th Annual Spring Conference of the Pennsylvania Computer and Information Science Educators. Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, PA.
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (April 8 – 9, 2011). Video Game Development, a Serious Educational Component of the Curriculum. In Proceedings of the 27th Annual Spring Conference of the Pennsylvania Computer and Information Science Educators. Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, PA.
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (March 19 – 21, 2009). The Virtual Trillium Trail: An Educationally Effective Simulation for Ecology Education. In Proceedings of the Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Educators 2009 Conference, Entriken, PA.
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (February 29 – March 1, 2008). A Demonstration of Virtual Trillium Trail, a Simulation of a Fourth Grade Field Trip to the Trillium Trail Wildflower Reserve. In Proceedings of the Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Educators 2008. Conference, Ligonier, PA.

Scholarly Presentation Activity

Invited Workshops

• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (2018). “Virtual Nature Workshop.” Game Development and Mixed Reality, MultiMediaTechnology Program of the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, Austria, May 14 – 18, 2018.
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (2022). “Virtual Nature as an Immersive Digital Twin and the Design Methods, Processes, and Educational Applications.” University of Arizona, College of Social & Behavioral Sciences, School of Information, Tucson, Arizona, April 1, 2022.
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (2021). “Virtual Nature and Augmented Reality Application Design and Development Workshop” University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Architecture + Design. March 30 and April 2, 2021.

Invited Guest Panel

• Harrington, Maria C. R. (April 11, 2023). “Augmented and Virtual Reality Dioramas and Arboretums for XR Exhibitions, Engagement, and Learning Design.” Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL). Atlanta, Georgia.
• Harrington, Maria C. R. (March 31, 2023). “VR/AR A, Central Florida Immersive Technology Summit – The Future of Education and the Metaverse.” Orlando, Florida.
• Harrington, Maria C. R. (February, 1 2023). “UCF Accelerating Digital Twins Readiness Workshop – Virtual Nature Digital Twins.” Orlando, Florida. Orlando, Florida.
• Harrington, Maria C. R. (November, 30 2022). “Virtual Nature Digital Twins Demonstration.” I/ITSEC 2022 for the National Center for Simulation booth with UCF IST and M&S. Orlando, Florida. Orlando, Florida.

Invited Talks National

• Harrington, Maria C. R. (June 23, 2021). “Creating Immersive Augmented Reality Applications for Learning.” Serious Play 2021 Conference, Virtual Reality/Mobile: Cutting Edge Apps For Training, Education - Interactive Session. Virtual, June 23, 2021. https://www.seriousplayconf.com/2021-program/
• Harrington, Maria C. R. “Virtual Nature in AR, MR & VR, for Data Visualization, Learning & Decision Support.” Presented at the UCF ORC The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD) Poster Session, Orlando, FL, June, 25, 2019.
• Harrington, Maria C. R. “AR and VR Virtual Nature Models Ideal for Informal Learning,” Presented at Serious Play 2019 Conference, UCF FIEA, Orlando, FL., July, 24 – 26, 2019.
• Harrington, Maria C. R. “Virtual Nature in Augmented reality and Virtual reality for Informal Learning in Museums and Arboretums.” Presented to the University of Pittsburgh, School of Information Sciences. Pittsburgh, PA. Dec. 2018 https://pitt.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=4b0724b6-4309-4960-a27f-a9af01247fe8
• Harrington, Maria C. R. “Reality matters in virtual reality for learning sciences research: The Virtual Trillium Trail empirical data and future fMRI studies.” Presented to the University of Pittsburgh, UPMC School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA; Pittsburgh, PA, April 2010. http://halley.exp.sis.pitt.edu/comet/presentColloquium.do?col_id=700
• Harrington, Maria C. R. “The Virtual Trillium Trail: The value of Freedom and Fidelity in the child-computer-environment interface.” Presented to the Carnegie Mellon Human-Computer Interaction Institute Seminar Series, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA. September, 2008. https://hcii.cmu.edu/news/event/2008/09/virtual-trillium-trail-value-freedom-and-fidelity-child-computer-environment-interface
• Harrington, Maria C. R. “Simulated ecological environments for education: Past and future realities.” Presented to the Chatham University, Pittsburgh, PA, Nov. 2008.
• Harrington, Maria C. R. “Tips and Tricks of Building Simulated Ecological Environments for Education: User Centered Design, Activity Analysis, Prototyping, and Techniques.” Presented to the Carnegie Mellon University, Entertainment Technology Center, Pittsburgh, PA, Oct. 2008.
• Harrington, Maria C. R. “The Virtual Trillium Trail: What if you could fly over your favorite park, and explore the ecosystem from any vantage point that you wished?” Presented to the Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve, Fox Chapel, PA, July. 2008.
• Harrington, Maria C. R. “The Poetics of Games: Art, Poetry and Storytelling in Modern Game Design.” Presented to Art Institute of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh, PA, Jan. 2008.
• Harrington, Maria C. R. “Virtual Trillium Trail and Opportunities for Education in Metaverses and Virtual Environments.” Presented to the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, Phipps Education Committee, Pittsburgh, PA, Nov. 2007.
• Harrington, Maria C. R. “Generating High Fidelity, 3D Computer Graphic Models from Transects and Plot Population Data for Trillium Trail.” University of Pittsburgh, Department of Biological Sciences: E&E Seminar, Pittsburgh, PA. Oct. 2007.

Invited Talks Regional

• Harrington, Maria C. R. “Virtual Nature: Making Knowledge Beautiful, AR/VR/MR Applications for Immersive Informal Learning and Visual Communications.” UCF NSCM Research and Creativity Colloquium Series, Orlando, Florida. March 26, 2021.
• Harrington, Maria C. R. “Virtual Nature.” VRARA Association Central Florida. Orlando, Florida. February 24, 2021. https://www.thevrara.com/blog2/2021/3/2/recap-of-our-event-leading-edge-xr-research-development-and-education
• Harrington, Maria C. R. “Virtual Nature and Immersive Informal Learning Applications Research Program,” Nicholson School of Communication and Media Advisory Board Meeting. UCF, Orlando, Florida. February 17, 2021.
• Harrington, Maria C. R. “Virtual Nature: Making Knowledge Beautiful.” Institute of Simulation and Technology, School of Modeling Simulation and Training, Seminar, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, September 24th, 2020. Video: https://www.ist.ucf.edu/Seminars/-Virtual-Nature-Making-Knowledge-Beautiful
• Harrington, Maria C. R. “Virtual Nature in AR and VR: The Virtual UCF Arboretum Project and the AR Perpetual Garden App Demonstration.” Exhibition, Orlando Science Center, Orlando, FL, January 17-20. 2020.
• Harrington, Maria C. R. “The Virtual UCF Arboretum Project, Website with AR and VR 3D Models, VR Desktop and VR HTC Vive Demonstration for Orlando Area Educational Outreach and Grant Planning.” UCF CREATE, College of Arts and Humanities, University of Central Florida. Orlando, FL. April. 2019.
• Harrington, Maria C. R. “Virtual Nature in Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality for Informal Learning in Museums and Arboretums and Graduate Students Course Projects from DIG 6812 Digital Interaction for Informal Learning.” Dean’s Executive Council, College of Arts and Humanities, University of Central Florida. Orlando, FL. April. 2019.
• Harrington, Maria C. R. “A Virtual Nature Model: Experience Virtual Nature.” Presented at the Otronicon Speaker Series, Orlando Science Center. Orlando, FL, January 18-21. 2019.
• Harrington, Maria C. R. “The Virtual UCF Arboretum Project Demonstration.” Exhibition, Orlando Science Center; Orlando, FL, January 18-21. 2019.
• Harrington, Maria C. R. “Virtual Nature in Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality for Art and Scientific Research, Applied to Informal Learning in Museums and Arboretums for Broader Impact.” Biology Seminar, Presented to the College of Sciences, University of Central Florida. Orlando, FL. Nov. 2018.
• Harrington, Maria C. R. “Virtual Nature: AR, VR & MR Knowledge Artifacts for Museums, Botanical Gardens, and Arboretums,” Presented to the University of Central Florida, Faculty Panel on Digital Media for the Fall 2018 Introduction to Ph.D. Text and Technology Program. Orlando, FL. Nov. 2018.
• Harrington, Maria C. R. “The Virtual UCF Arboretum Project: An Educational Simulation of the Real UCF Arboretum using VR and Educational Website for STEM.” Presented at the Otronicon Speaker Series, Orlando Science Center, Orlando, FL, January, 12-15. 2018.
• Harrington, Maria C. R. “The Virtual Trillium Trail Project.” Presentation at Otronicon 2017, Orlando Science Center, Orlando, FL, Jan 13-16. 2017.
• Harrington, Maria C. R. “The Virtual Trillium Trail and Educational Simulations.” Presented to the University of Central Florida, Faculty Panel on Digital Media for the Fall 2017 Introduction to Text and Technology course. Orlando, FL. Nov. 2017.
• Harrington, Maria C. R. “A New Paradigm for Virtual Reality & Simulations for Education, Learning & Creating: The Virtual Trillium Trail Project – Empirical Evidence on Design Factors in Simulated Ecological Environments for Education and Causal Impacts on Emotions, Learning, Priming, Transfer, and Reinforcement.” Presented to the University of Central Florida, Institute for Simulation and Training, Modeling and Simulation Seminar, Orlando, FL, Nov. 2016. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/new-paradigm-virtual-reality-simulations-education-ucf
• Harrington, Maria C. R. “Art and Technology.” Presented to the University of Central Florida, SVAD Gallery Artist Talk, School of Visual Arts and Design, Orlando, FL, Nov. 2016. https://www.slideshare.net/MariaCRHarringtonPhD/ucf-svad-art-talk-11162016
• Harrington, Maria C. R. “VR and STEM Education.” Presented to the I/ITSEC 2016 Modeling & Simulation Conference: K-12 STEM; Orlando, FL, Nov. 2016.

Art Shows

• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (2017). EXHIBITION: SVAD Faculty 2017. Presented two works of computer art, “The Virtual Trillium Trail,” UCF Art Gallery, University of Central Florida, Aug. 2017
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. (2016). EXHIBITION: SVAD Faculty 2016. Presented two works of computer art, “The Virtual Trillium Trail,” UCF Art Gallery, University of Central Florida, Oct. 2016
• Harrington, Maria, C. R. LOST AND FOUND 2006. Garfield Artworks Art & Performance Space, Presented six works of computer art, and a multimedia collage, Pittsburgh, PA. Oct. 2006

Press Coverage with National or Economic Impact

• UCF Today. (April 24, 2023). “Digital Twins Created by UCF Associate Professor Enhance Real-World Education – Maria Harrington’s work with virtual nature emphasizes the importance of emotions and aesthetics in learning.” Retrieved from https://www.ucf.edu/news/maria-harrington-nature-digital-twin
• Nicole Dudenhoefer. (Spring 2023). “The New Era of Simulation – Exploring Virtual Nature.” Pegasus: The Magazine of the University of Central Florida, 29(1), p 48. Retrieved from https://www.ucf.edu/pegasus/the-new-era-of-simulation/
• Majdulina, Hamed. (April 3, 2023). “Dr. Maria Harrington’s Paper Published in a Premiere International Peer-Reviewed Open Access Journal.” UCF Nicholson School of Communication and Media. Retrieved from https://communication.ucf.edu/dr-maria-harringtons-paper-published-in-a-premiere-international-peer-reviewed-open-access-journal/
• Majdulina, Hamed. (September 2, 2022). “Dr. Maria Harrington Presents Course on Virtual Nature as a Digital Twin in Vancouver.” UCF Nicholson School of Communication and Media. Retrieved from https://communication.ucf.edu/dr-maria-harrington-presents-course-on-virtual-nature-as-a-digital-twin-in-vancouver/
• Popescu, Iulia. (November 3, 2021). “New AR and VR Content Pack Makes the Virtual World Bloom.” UCF Nicholson School of Communication and Media. Retrieved from https://communication.ucf.edu/new-ar-and-vr-content-pack-makes-the-virtual-world-bloom/
• O’Shea, Patrick. (May 9, 2021). “Versatilist with Maria Harrington.” The Versatilist published on Apple Podcasts. Retrieved from https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/versatilist-with-maria-harrington/id1016303356?i=1000521023510
• Canales, Jesse. (August 31, 2020). “UCF App Helps Those Isolated by Coronavirus Get Outdoors.” Spectrum News Channel 13 News. Retrieved from https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/news/2020/08/31/ucf-professor-uses-app-to-help-those-dealing-with-stress-isolation#
• Kotala, Zenaida. (May 11, 2020). “Epic Games, maker of Fortnite, awards UCF professor grant to enhance AR and VR technology.” American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS ) EurekAlert! Retrieved from https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-05/uocf-egm051120.php
• Momich, Betsy. (Ed). (Spring 2019). “In Bloom.” Carnegie Magazine, 83(1), p 8. https://carnegiemuseums.org/carnegie-magazine/spring-2019/seen-heard-spring-2019/
• Levere, Jane, L. (March, 12, 2019). “Meeting Old Masters, Rowing With Vikings – in Augmented Reality.” The New York Times, Arts. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/12/arts/augmented-reality-app-exhibits.html
• Daly, Jill. (December 26, 2018). “New Carnegie Museum app shows threat to wildflower diversity in the woods.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved from https://www.post-gazette.com/news/environment/2018/12/26/App-augmented-reality-carnegie-powdermill-woodland-diversity-deer-wildflowers/stories/201812130168?fbclid=IwAR3iO0_ZMy4tOXiayU-UPEUvZPEj9eNXB4OTSyiGMzFCpn-bs7oNCZYghEM
• Davis, Kathleen, J. (December 19, 2018). “Augmented Reality App Shows How Deer Overpopulation Affects Western PA’s Forests.” 90.5 WESA (Pittsburgh, PA, NPR). Retrieved from https://www.wesa.fm/post/augmented-reality-app-shows-how-deer-overpopulation-affects-western-pas-forests?fbclid=IwAR2Hhud6r0pN9GuFBR-Y8GmgSSxkKDlnC6ItO-ymIFhO8pesb4tArCWHQcU#stream/0

Press Coverage with Regional Impact

• Majdulina, Hamed. (January 4, 2023). “Dr. Maria Harrington Presents Digital Twins of Nature in AR and VR.” UCF Nicholson School of Communication and Media. Retrieved from https://communication.ucf.edu/dr-maria-harrington-presents-digital-twins-of-nature-in-ar-and-vr/
• Majdulina Hamed & Katie Coronado. (November 1, 2022). “Dr. Maria Harrington Discusses M3DVR and the Virtual UCF Arboretum.” UCF Nicholson School of Communication and Media. Retrieved from https://communication.ucf.edu/dr-maria-harrington-discusses-m3dvr-and-the-virtual-ucf-arboretum/
• Staff (July 16, 2021). “Virtual UCF Arboretum Expands Offering for Digital Game Designers.” UCF COS NEWS. Retrieved from https://sciences.ucf.edu/news/virtual-ucf-arboretum-expands-offerings-for-digital-game-designers/
• Popescu, Iulia. (June 1, 2021). “Groundbreaking Work Provides Insight on Informal Learning." UCF Nicholson School of Communication and Media. Retrieved from https://communication.ucf.edu/groundbreaking-work-provides-insight-on-informal-learning/
• Popescu, Iulia. (April 1, 2021). “Virtual Nature: Making Knowledge Beautiful." UCF Nicholson School of Communication and Media, Retrieved from https://communication.ucf.edu/virtual-nature-making-knowledge-beautiful/
• Beebe, Kendall. (March 18, 2021). “The benefit of plants on mental health in a post—pandemic society.” NSM Today, Retrieved from http://www.nicholsonstudentmedia.com/news/the-benefit-of-plants-on-mental-health-in-a-post-pandemic-society/article_77435666-82e1-11eb-ab38-efd5a32108b8.html
• Kotala, Zenaida. (August 26, 2020). “UCF Offers Free Nature-themed VR and AR Applications to Help Students and Those Isolated Because of COVID-19.” UCF Today, Retrieved from https://www.ucf.edu/news/ucf-offers-free-nature-themed-vr-and-ar-applications-to-help-students-and-those-isolated-because-of-covid-19/
• Kotala, Zenaida. (May 11, 2020). “Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, Awards UCF Professor Grant to Enhance AR and VR Technology.” UCF Today, Retrieved from https://www.ucf.edu/news/epic-games-maker-of-fortnite-awards-ucf-professor-grant-to-enhance-ar-and-vr-technology/
• Giller, Jamie. (May 4, 2020). “Alumni Leading Virtual Reality: As an undergraduate student, Thomas Pring ’20 worked in two research labs to level up from gamer to virtual reality game designer.” UCF Today, Retrieved from https://www.ucf.edu/news/leading-virtual-reality/
• Smith, Heather. (December 6, 2018). “UCF Partners with Carnegie Museum on Augmented Reality App That Brings Gardens to Life.” UCF Today. Retrieved from https://today.ucf.edu/augmented-reality-app-brings-appalachian-wildflower-gardens-life-smartphones
• Martin, Kyle. (December 3, 2018). “The Virtual Arboretum Visits Coming Soon.” UCF COS NEWS. Retrieved from https://sciences.ucf.edu/news/virtual-arboretum-visits-coming-soon/?fbclid=IwAR34sfbIJuq8IrY0GVs8nlUHrmB2HvtfygUncLRfnX1TptIZpeLkL_39pgU
• Weisberg, Deborah. “Technology Comes to the Trillium Trail, One Woman’s Efforts Enhance both Education and the Environment.” Interviewed by The SHADY AVE, Spring 2015
• “The Virtual Trillium Trail, Explore a virtual forest to learn more about the natural world,” Remake Learning.com 2012. Retrieved from https://remakelearning.org/project/virtual-trillium-trail/
• INNOVATION & STARTUPS “Fox Chapel students hike the Trillium Trail virtually and in person,” POP City, Aug. 2012
• “Alumni Trailblazer, Maria C. R. Harrington,” Interviewed by Pitt Magazine, Imagine, Spring 2012